The present invention relates to magnetic hard disk drives. More specifically, the present invention relates to a system for maintaining proper alignment in the coupling of a hard disk micro-actuator and magnetic head to a drive arm's suspension during the curing process of the bonding agent.
In the art today, different methods are utilized to improve recording density of hard disk drives. FIG. 1 provides an illustration of a typical drive arm configured to read from and write to a magnetic hard disk. Typically, a voice-coil motor (VCM) 102 is used for controlling the motion, across a magnetic hard disk 106, of an arm 104 of a hard drive. Because of the inherent tolerance (dynamic play) that exists in the placement of a recording head 108 by a VCM 102 alone, micro-actuators 110 are now being utilized to ‘fine-tune’ head 108 placement, as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,198,606. A VCM 102 is utilized for course adjustment and the micro-actuator then corrects the placement on a much smaller scale to compensate for the tolerance of the VCM 102 (with the arm 104). This enables a smaller recordable track width, increasing the ‘tracks per inch’ (TPI) value of the hard drive (increased drive density).
FIG. 2 provides an illustration of a micro-actuator as used in the art. Typically, a slider 202 (containing a read/write magnetic head; not shown) is utilized for maintaining a prescribed flying height above the disk surface 106 (See FIG. 1). Micro-actuators may have flexible beams 204 connecting a support device 206 to a slider containment unit 208 enabling slider 202 motion independent of the drive arm 104 (See FIG. 1). An electromagnetic assembly or an electromagnetic/ferromagnetic assembly (not shown) may be utilized to provide minute adjustments in orientation/location of the slider/head 202 with respect to the arm 104 (See FIG. 1).
A bonding agent, such as epoxy, may be used to physically couple components, such as a micro-actuator, to other components, such as a magnetic head (slider) or drive arm suspension. Because bonding agents such as epoxy require an amount of time to cure, during which the bonding agent is somewhat fluid, the components to be bonded have an opportunity to physically shift away from their proper relative orientation under the influence of the clamping force necessary for proper bond securement.
It is therefore desirable to have a system for maintaining proper alignment in the coupling of a hard disk micro-actuator and magnetic head to a drive arm's suspension during the curing process of the bonding agent, as well as having additional benefits.